The Persistance of Memory
by Alison2
Summary: After three years of marriage, Harry and Severus must decide in which direction to take their family life.
1. Default Chapter

Title: The Persistence of Memory (1/?)  
Author: Alison  
Pairing: SS/HP  
Rating: PG-13  
Feedback: Brekke3221@aol.com  
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just borrowing them long enough to make the boys fall in wuv.  
Summary: Harry and Severus are married, but Harry has to know if either of them wants to find a way to take that next step.  
  
------   
Their third anniversary.   
  
It really did seem like just yesterday he and Severus had sworn in front of family, friends, and hangers-on that they would love each other for eternity. To be honest, Harry sometimes thought he couldn't remember his life before Sev had glared his way into his heart. Six years, and three of those in marriage.  
  
Taking into consideration his husband's dislike for extravagant celebration, Harry had elected to keep the Potter-Snape chambers at Hogwarts decoration free. However, he did not intend to let his beloved to get off without at least some sort of celebration even though the house-elves had somehow decided to serve a mixture of he and Sev's favorite foods for both lunch and dinner. Fortunately, Dobby had made no announcement of any sort that would embarrass the two men in front of both staff and students. Settling into his armchair, Harry mentally reviewed the location of his present for Severus and started to grade essays, in hopes this task, albeit boring, would somehow magically cause Sev to return from his laboratory.  
  
Severus returned from his experiments with a feeling like dread. It was their anniversary, and he knew his husband would have something planned. Steeling himself and affixing his best glare on his face, he pushed open the door to their rooms only to find his husband in his regular armchair dozing with glasses sliding down his nose and a book in his lap. Crossing over to Harry, Sev lightly removed the glasses from his husband's face. Harry stirred.  
  
"Sev? I didn't realize I had fallen asleep," Harry punctuated this with a slight yawn.  
  
Severus gave a wan smile. "Obviously, or I would not have had to wake you up."  
  
Harry stood up and put his arms around Severus. "Happy Anniversary, love. I know you didn't want any celebration. And for once, I'm actually doing what you told me to. Well, sort of. I did get you a present, but only because I wanted to and our anniversary was a good excuse, and . ." His rambling was stopped by a loving kiss from his husband.  
  
When they parted, Severus spoke. "It does not surprise me, Professor Potter, that you were unable to follow my instructions to the letter. You never have before, so why start now?" Before his husband could answer back, he continued, "But I, now being well versed in How Harry Thinks, managed to figure out that you would at least get me a present if you could not decorate and throw a party. So at the risk of hurting your fragile ego, I also have a present for you."  
  
Harry mock-scowled at his husband. "First of all, it's only Professor Potter to the students. I prefer my colleagues to remember to use Potter-Snape. And it took no great thinking advance to figure I would get you a present, Sev. I've only gotten you one for every anniversary thus far."  
  
Choosing not to respond, Severus sat down in his armchair, expectant. Shaking his head at his husband, Harry went to retrieve his gift. Sliding it from its hiding space (good for Christmas gifts as well), he returned to the sitting room and plopped himself on Sev's lap.  
  
"Harry...you do have a chair. I can see it with my own two eyes."  
"I like your lap better. Hush up for once in your life and open your bloody present!" Harry liked his current "chair" quite well and was not intent on moving.  
  
Eyeing the gift as if it would bite him, Severus unwrapped it carefully. Opening the box, he found his husband had bought him new dress robes. Elegant, midnight blue dress robes.   
  
Harry searched his husband's face. "Do you like them? I can have them exchanged if you want a new color, or a new fit, or no robes at all?"  
  
Severus shook his head. "Perfect. The color...why have I never seen it before?"  
  
"Because you didn't pay to have the robe makers create a color to match your eyes."  
  
Severus blinked. Once. Twice. Sometimes, often actually, Harry Potter-Snape completely amazed him. He knew he was lucky, both in his husband and in the fact that Harry hadn't tried to completely reform his entire personality. Deciding it was worth his husband knowing how he truly felt for once, Severus captured Harry's mouth in a kiss that left the two men breathless.  
  
Pulling back slightly, Harry beamed. "They'll look wonderful on you. And, you know, even better coming off of you."  
  
"Why Harry, thinking such dirty thoughts this early in the evening?" Severus allowed himself a small smile. "We shall see. Now, this is for you." A wrapped package floated to him from a nearby room.   
  
Taking the gift, Harry noted at once that it was clearly a book. Unwrapping it hastily, he gaped at the title and of the age of the book. Severus reveled in the shock on his husband's face and revealed, "It's been in my family for generations. You are my family now and I wanted you to have it. I know you enjoy Transfiguration much more than I do."  
  
Still in shock, Harry stared at the cover of a second edition copy of _Transfiguration: Creating a New Reality_ written by Merlin. Laying the book on the table next to the chair, he turned to his husband and kissed him heatedly. Pulling back, he smiled at Severus. "I love you, Sev. The book, it's amazing. You are amazing. I..."  
  
Severus put his finger over his husband's lips. "I love you too, Harry." He smirked slightly. "Shall we continue this conversation, say, in bed?"  
  
Any onlookers would have been hard pressed to say which man beat the other to the bedroom.  
  
----   
  
Lying next to Severus with one of his arms draped across Harry's chest, Harry thought back to something Sev had said about the book. 'In his family for generations,' Harry mused. 'I guess it usually passes from father to child, but in this case it seems to have just passed to the husband.' Struck by the realization that Severus would not be able to pass the book on to **his** child, Harry briefly wondered if Sev had ever wanted kids. He seemed not to like his students overly much, but Harry rather suspected that was because of their lack of effort and dedication. Children were always something Harry had wanted, but he loved Sev. He wouldn't have wanted to ignore the way he felt just to marry some witch for the sake of carrying on the Potter name. Yet, he wanted to be part of a family. Like the one Voldemort had stolen from him. Wondering if any of this was possible, and slightly concerned that Sev could really dislike children, Harry finally thought himself into sleep.  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Persistence of Memory (2/?)  
Author: Alison  
Pairing: SS/HP  
Rating: PG-13  
Feedback: Brekke3221@aol.com  
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just borrowing them long enough to make the boys fall in wuv.  
Summary: Harry and Severus are married, but Harry has to know if either of them wants to find a way to take that next step.  
  
---   
  
A week had passed, and Harry had still not brought up the subject of children with Severus. However, he had written to Hermione to see if she knew of any alternate ways of having children. Hermione was still the smartest witch he knew, and since she had just finished studying graduate level Charms at Stonehenge, he was almost certain she would know the answer or go bury herself in a library until she found out.  
  
It was a Hogsmead day, and Sev had gone in to purchase some potions ingredients that he refused to trust anyone else to buy. This left Harry alone in their chambers, reading a newly-released DADA text when he heard a tapping at the door. Rising and using his wand to quickly ascertain that whatever it was didn't want him as its lunch, Harry opened the door. Pig, Ron's owl, came swooping in, a bit older, but still excitable.  
  
'Funny, didn't think I'd hear from Ron so soon,' a slightly confused Harry removed the parchment from Pig's leg and fed him an owl treat. Glancing down at the scroll, he noticed Hermione's distinctive writing, rather than Ron's.  
  
Nervously, Harry unfolded the letter and began to read.   
  
_ Dear Harry,  
  
My goodness! You and Professor Snape want to have children? I must admit, I was a little taken back at first, Harry. But, if it is something you really want to do, and since you wrote me the letter, I assume it is, you know I will help in whatever capacity I can. Here is what I know or have found out so far: Obviously, you could ask a witch you are friends with to have it for you. One of the two of you would have to donate sperm, etc. In the Muggle world, this is often problematic because of slim chances for success, but I feel sure that there are charms to work on that aspect for wizards. Another rather traditional method would be adoption. For Muggles, it can be difficult for two men to adopt a child, but I'm not saying that it has never been done. I'll have to ask about adoption among wizards, I'm afraid that it is something I really don't know much about. Ok, now onto doing it through magic. I was looking through some old texts at the Stonehenge library, and I think I may have found something. It's a spell that hasn't been tried in hundreds of years. But it involved combined parts of the two parents' auras/life force. This combination can be put into a willing female to be a surrogate mother. Those are the rough details, I'm still looking for the particulars of the spell itself. I hope this helps. And Harry, do **NOT** attempt to do anything alone. Promise me that you will bring Professor Dumbledore into any plans you tentatively make. I'll be getting back to you with more information.  
  
All my love,  
Hermione  
_   
Harry put the letter into his desk. Now he knew he had options, he just had to see how Sev felt about children. Specifically, **their** children. Putting a marker in his DADA reading, Harry decided that the only way to calm his swirling mind was to do the most boring thing he could thing of. With a sigh, Harry reached for a batch of fourth year essays.  
  
  



End file.
